Tolzien: "I probably would have pulled me, too"

Green Bay - When Scott Tolzien scored on a serpentine move to the end zone, bowling his way there on the final few yards, it appeared as though he was going to have a good day.

The Packers had driven 87 yards in 11 plays on their second possession and Tolzien had completed pass of 20 yards to FB John Kuhn and 34 to WR Jordy Nelson..

But everything went downhill from there and some of the inaccurate passes he had thrown leading up to that touchdown suddenly became the norm. The offense manage just four first downs the rest of the way and Tolzien finished the half 7 of 15 for 98 yards.

After he failed to move the ball on the first series of the second half, coach mike McCarthy told him he was coming out.

"I can't make any excuses," Tolzien said. "I didn't play well. There were a lot of things (that didn't go right). I thought Matt played great. That's what he's supposed to do, step in in the middle of the game. He did a good job of getting the offense in a rhythm."

In came Flynn, who completed 21 of 36 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown in leading the Packers to 19 points. His 6-yard touchdown pass to WR Jarrett Boykin with 3:30 left in regulartion made it, 23-20. He then drove the team 77 yards in 10 plays, to set up the go-ahead field goal in overtime.

"Just the configuration of getting Matt in and out of the huddle and doing things at the line of scrimmage where our offense was able to press their defense, gave us a spark," McCarthy said.

Flynn had been let go by two teams this season and only after both Aaron Rodgers and Seneca Wallace got hurt did the Packers sign him. He had not played good football in his other appearances with Oakland and there were no guarantees he would play well with the Packers.

But Flynn has a reputation of not looking good in practice as he does in games and McCarthy was committed to Tolzien. Finally, he had to make a change with a key divisional game at stake.

"Right after one of our drives, Aaron came up to me when I was just coming back to the bench and said, 'Get warmed up, you might be coming in,'" Flynn said. "So I started warming up and Tom Clements, the OC, came up and said, 'You're in when we get the ball.'

"So it kind of happened fast. I just had enough time to get warmed up and roll.. Obviously, it was good to get in there and have fun. Kind of rushed myself. I was a little excited that first drive and probably kind of rushed some things a little bit. But it was good to get settled in."

Flynn was asked if he thought Rodgers would be the starter against Detroit Thanksgiving Day.

"I don't know what the plan is. I don't know if anyone's really thinking about the plan right at this second," Flynn said. "I know it's a quick turnaround this week with the Thanksgiving game, but we'll see. I'm sure we'll know more tomorrow. But this one kind of hurts for sure."

Flynn's biggest lament was not being able to score a touchdown on the opening overtime drive. If the Packers score a touchdown there, they win.

But they stalled on the 2-yard line with Flynn over-throwing Nelson on a corner route.

"I need to do a better job of finishing that drive off," Flynn said. "There's some things that mechanically, running the offense, that I need to do a better job of. And that will come."

If Rodgers doesn't start Thursday, it's a pretty good bet, Flynn will. McCarthy declined to name a starter.

About Tom Silverstein

Tom Silverstein has covered the Green Bay Packers since 1989. He is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year award winner.